West Virginia Dollar General manager charged after asking favors from minor for ‘discount.’ He locks her up and explains it was how he’d been trained

A 35-year-old store manager in Philippi, West Virginia, has just been charged with soliciting a minor. Jeffrey Malcolm was taken into custody following an incident at a local Dollar General that involved him allegedly locking a juvenile girl inside the store and making inappropriate comments after offering them a manager discount.

According to WBOY, deputies with the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to the store on September 12 after receiving a report of the incident. The responding officers were met by the complainant, the girl’s mother, who alleged that the girl “had been locked inside” by “one of the store managers,” identified as Malcolm. The mother further alleged that Malcolm had made “inappropriate comments” to the girl before the doors were secured.

Citing the criminal complaint, WDTV reported that the victim claimed Malcolm waved her into the store as they reached it. As she entered the store, she told Malcolm, “You almost locked me out.” He then allegedly told her, “Well, now you are locked in.” Per WBOY, her account stated that Malcolm “accompanied (the victim) to the party supply section” shortly after the juvenile entered the store. 

Malcolm reportedly tried to then set up a favor

When the victim reached the checkout area, Malcolm allegedly “instructed another employee not to ring up (the) purchases,” telling them that he “would handle the transaction himself.” Per WBOY, Malcolm purportedly told her that “he was giving (the juvenile) ‘a manager’s discount’.” 

WDTV reported that, per the report, Malcom then used his manager’s discount to pay for the party supplies himself and purportedly told the girl that she only had to pay for a pack of gum. Immediately after the transaction, the report alleged that Malcolm asked the child, “What are you going to do for me now that I paid for your stuff?” 

The outlet noted that as this interaction was going down, other employees needed to take the trash out. The victim claimed that when he unlocked the door for them, she immediately left the store. Deputies noted in the report that when they spoke to the girl, she was crying and visibly shaken. She reportedly told them that she had never been through a similar experience and was scared, as she had been locked inside with two adult men. 

According to the report, the victim also claimed that they had seen Malcolm taking photographs of juveniles at a fair the week before this incident. WDTV reported that when Malcom was questioned by the deputies, he allegedly admitted to buying the items and acknowledged locking the girl inside, but claimed it was “consistent with the procedure he had been trained to follow.”

According to WDTV, the report noted that Malcolm denied asking the girl what she would do in return. He then admitted to drinking on the job and claimed that he “needed help.” The outlet noted that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.136%. Malcolm is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $40,000 bond.

According to the Virginia Criminal and DUI Defense Group, the charge of Solicitation of a minor falls under Virginia Code section 18.2-374.3. The law stated that it is illegal to use any communication system to facilitate criminal offenses involving minors. 

This includes personal contact, as well as direct contact over other means of communication like the US mail, common carriers, or electronic systems, including telephones and the internet, to procure or promote the use of a minor in activities that constitute indecent liberties with children or the production of child pornography. This specific offense is classified as a Class 6 felony. A DC Police lieutenant, for instance, was busted for attempting to solicit over text message.

The law group noted that it is a Class 5 felony for individuals to use an electronic communications system with lascivious intent to knowingly interact with a child they believe is under 15. Virginia Criminal and DUI Defense Group noted that if the perpetrator is at least seven years older than the child, they could face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years, with potential sentences reaching up to 30 years.

For a second or subsequent conviction, that mandatory minimum can jump to 10 years, with a maximum of 40 years. The law also covers interactions with children between 15 and 18. The group wrote that a second conviction in these cases could lead to 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of one year.  In New Orleans, a man named Santa Claus was arrested after using a fake dating app to try to connect with minors.

Furthermore, it is a Class 5 felony for anyone 18 or older to use a communication system to solicit a minor for prostitution, human trafficking, or child pornography.